Photo:  © Mark Ralston, AFP via Getty Images

GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS EMERGENCY

Fires, scorching temperatures, floods and droughts are a wake-up call. We’re facing a global human rights emergency of unprecedented proportions, linked to the triple threat of climate change, ecosystem breakdown and political inaction. 

In early June 2023, smoke from more than 400 wildfires burning across Canada posed risks to the health of tens of millions of people in North America. These worsening fires are an obvious indication of a warming world.

The science is indisputable. Burning fossil fuels accounts for more than 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the primary cause of climate change. The ripple effects endanger the right to life, to water, food, housing, health, and an adequate standard of living. The list goes on and on. The survival of entire peoples is at risk. 

That’s why human rights experts have joined scientists to sound the alarm. A rapid phaseout of fossil fuels is necessary in order to protect the right to a healthy environment and all life that depends on it. 

PHASEOUT FOSSIL FUELS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

However, Canada and other rich, industrialized countries continue to fund the expansion of fossil fuels, condemning millions of people to the life-threatening impacts of worsening climate change. 

Canada’s House of Commons declared a climate emergency in 2019. Yet Canada’s export bank, Export Development Canada (EDC), continues to direct billions of dollars in loans, insurance and other support to fossil fuel activity in Canada and other countries. EDC is one of the biggest public financial backers of fossil fuels in the world. This is a mass-scale assault on human rights.

“Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels. Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”  

--UN Secretary-General António Guterres

BAN FOSSIL FUELS BY 2030!

Canada must phase out all fossil fuels by 2030. However, Canada must ensure an immediate end to fracking and exploitation of oil sands, as these activities pose the greatest risk to the environment and human rights. The Canadian government and EDC must also stop financing fossil fuel expansion in Canada and around the world.

Take Action now and send a message to Canada's Finance and Trade Ministers, and the Chief Executive Officer of Export Development Canada.